A 200-metre volcanic rock topped with a 5th-century royal palace – approached via ancient water gardens, celestial fresco paintings on the cliff face and sweeping 360-degree summit views.

Sophisticated 5th-century hydraulic gardens at the base of the rock – interconnected pools, fountains and moat channels still partially functional today.

A polished plaster surface inscribed with devotional poetry by visitors spanning over a thousand years – one of the world’s longest examples of continuous literary tradition on a single surface.

Five ancient rock-hewn shrines with over 150 Buddha statues and extraordinary painted murals covering every inch of ceiling and wall across two thousand years of continuous use.